US architecture firm Studio Gang has been selected to design a new expansion of the Clinton Presidential Center, now home to a library and museum in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. 

Studio Gang was chosen by The Clinton Foundation, a non-profit organization established by the former US president Bill Clinton to "strengthen the capacity of people in the United States and throughout the world to meet the challenges of global interdependence".

The new proposed expansion aims to fulfill the Clinton Center's mission to engage and educate people about Bill Clinton’s social commitment and values. 

Although there are no designs released yet, proposed designs and more details about the Clinton Center are expected to unveil in 2024.

The new major expansion will house exhibitions, convene global leaders, and provide educational opportunities. In addition, the project will also include the design of a new Hillary Rodham Clinton Institute to house the former first lady and secretary of state's personal archives and papers. 

The new Hillary Rodham Clinton Institute will serve as a hub for her nonprofit and advocacy work.

Located in a 29-acre city park along the Arkansas River, the Clinton Center is also home to the Clinton Museum store and the award-winning restaurant 42 bar and table.

The current building, listed among the first LEED-certified buildings in Arkansas, was originially designed by an American architecture firm Polshek Partnership (it was renamed as Ennead Architects in 2010). 

While The Library and Museum Building is now platinum-certified, the Choctaw Building is gold-certified. As The Clinton Foundation stated, the new expansion "will build on this record of sustainable design and construction practices".

"For nearly two decades, the Clinton Center has inspired millions of visitors, convened global leaders, and served as a catalyst for innovative social and economic development,” said Stephanie S. Streett, Executive Director of the Clinton Foundation. 

CPC with dark surroundings and bridge Courtesy of the Clinton Foundation. Image © Ben Krain

The building will "focus on sustainability and bring people together"

"Studio Gang is the perfect partner to help us explore opportunities to expand our impact with a focus on sustainability and bringing people together," Streett added. 

"The Clinton Presidential Center was built to set a new standard for environmental performance," said Studio Gang Founding Partner Jeanne Gang. 

"We are excited to be working with the Clinton Foundation to advance that legacy, while also strengthening the Clinton Center’s role as a welcoming hub for cultivating a new generation of global leaders," Gang added.

Studio Gang will work in collaboration with Little Rock-based architecture firm Polk Stanley Wilcox on the expansion.

Ever since its establishment in 2004, the Clinton Center has attracted more than five million people from around the world, including more than 500,000 students and educators. The Clinton Center has been a home to dozens of special exhibitions, hundreds of free public programs, and leadership programs for students and professionals.

In line with other Clinton Foundation initiatives, the Clinton Center has brought leaders together from business, government, and civil society, including last year’s Women’s Voices Summit and the 2019 Domestic Economic Policy Conference which launched commitments to spur economic growth across the country.

In 2014, the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce found the Clinton Center contributed a substantial economic impact of $3.3 billion in downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock.

Studio Gang, led by Jeanne Gang, recently completed the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (AMFA) in Little Rock’s MacArthur Park, Arkansas, featuring a striking and signature roof, made of a flowing, folded concrete.

Based in Chicago with offices in New York, San Francisco, and Paris, Studio Gang's design philosophy focused on sustainability. 

The 82-story mixed-use Aqua Tower in Chicago, the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation, part of New York’s historic American Museum of Natural History and the 10,000-square-foot Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College are among key projects of the studio.

Top image courtesy of the Clinton Foundation.

> via The Clinton Foundation

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